The Ethereal Return
by kennie
Summary: Team 7 is shocked to find out that Kisame and Itachi are no longer part of Akatsuki...but what scares them even more is the fact that Itachi will be returning to Konoha in a couple of days! What will happen when Itachi comes? Pure Chaos? Death of Konoha?
1. Yet Again

**01-Yet Again**

Sasuke's eyes widened in shock when he first heard those words. He gaped at the silver haired Jounin, who was speaking in a lazy, nonchalant tone.

"Um, yeah, so as I was saying, the latest rumors from the townsfolk say that Akatsuki has dismissed Hoshigaki Kisame and Uchiha Itachi for unknown reasons. Kisame was seen back in the Hidden Village of Mist, and Itachi will be returning to Konoha in a couple of days," Kakashi paused and looked around the dimly lit room. When he had asked Naruto to lend him his room as a meeting place for a couple of hours, Naruto quickly agreed without hesitation. With Hinata murdered, a huge hole was pierced through his heart and never seemed to mend. Naruto needed all of the company he could get now.

They had gathered there for an 'emergency Team 7 meeting', as Kakashi would like to call it. The three teammates were now a healthy fourteen years old, and were inseparable. Sakura was sprawled out on the floor, lying on her stomach, while Naruto sat beside her, with his head rested the wall behind him. Sasuke sat cross-legged with his elbow on a knee, palm cocked against his face. Across from him was Kakashi sitting comfortably on Naruto's couch.

"What do you mean, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked with her concerned tone, still bearing the honorifics to her comrades. "Aren't Itachi-san and Kisame-san dangerous missing-nins? Are they going to come to Konoha with bad intentions?" Sakura sighed, pushing back a strand of her shoulder-length hair that was tinted a furious shade of pink. "I bet that this is just some excuse to come and spy on our ANBU squads and kidnap Sasu-"

Sakura was stopped by a sudden glance of Kakashi that clearly stated, "Do not go any further, or you will regret the long days without Sasuke's presence." Sasuke had to muster every ounce of strength in his body from getting up and slapping Sakura's face. Instead, he gripped the carpet and clenched his teeth. He gazed upon Sakura's black turtleneck along with a matching black pants. She had ignored the usual dressing of a well-trained and educated Chuunin, and stuck to her own fashions instead. _I guess that's just another strange female trait_, Sasuke thought.

"Well, well," Kakashi tried to drive the tension between Sasuke and Sakura away and bring attention to himself. "I have a peculiar feeling that Kisame will remain in Mist, but Itachi will not be stopped by anything to return to Konoha. Without Akatsuki, those two will be reduced to nothing, and see no more purpose in their lives. But-they may be returning to their original villages for personal reasons, instead of inflicting more unnecessary harm to their surroundings. Odd things are going to be happening in the next couple of weeks..." Kakashi's voice trailed off, and his visible eye was drifting around the messy room covered with posters of posing women and bowls of ramen.

"Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other. They had gotten so close to each other over the past few years, and now they could be happy without seeing one of their faces. After a couple of a silent and uncomfortable silence, Naruto started another argument with Sasuke about the better weapon-the shuriken or the kunai. When they were finished, they then said their goodbyes and went on their separate ways. When Sasuke, who lived the farthest on the other side of town, was no longer visible in the dark moonlight, Naruto closed his door and locked it. He trudged over to his bed and flopped down on it, landing on his soft pillow. He stared at his low and slanted ceiling, which had a taped picture of Jiraiya and Yondaime grinning down at him. Jiraiya had given him the cherished photo as a recent birthday present. Naruto began to feel his eyes droop. Just before he fell into his usual deep trance of slumber, he thought about the upcoming weeks and how bizarre they could become. His snores filled the room yet again, but a thought kept on repeating over and over again in his head, and he couldn't get it out.

"Boy, the next few weeks might be the craziest I will ever have in awhile..."

Whoo! Pretty short, but the next couple of chapters are expected to be longer! Please send in a review, because I will _greatly_ appreciate it! (Especially flames! Those will not be looked down upon, but will be honored!) Don't worry, I will _not_ blackmail or sue you for this...I wouldn't take it that seriously. Well, I would, but...never mind. And, also as a note for all of those crazy psychos out there-I DO NOT OWN NARUTO (although I wish I did)! If you find the content in my stories offensive, do not sue! Instead, do this simple procedure-simply drag your mouse to the red "X" button in the upper-right corner of the window, and my story will magically poof off! Isn't that just FABULOUS? Anyway, thanks for reading! This chapter was PG (maybe even G?), but in the future it _will_ be PG-13-mainly because of language, and possibly some violent situations? I'm not sure yet...but, hoped you enjoyed it! -kennie-


	2. The Shadow

**02-The Shadow**

The next morning was as ordinary as any other day. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke met up with Kakashi to do the morning's missions (which, were now usually a short B-rank), and had the afternoon to themselves. Naruto kept on wondering if the meeting at his house before had actually happened, because no one mentioned anything from that point forward. Kakashi, well, was obviously too busy to stay and chat with him, and Naruto could only wonder how many broken bones he would have if he even tried to ask Sasuke. Naruto had kept Sakura for a last resort. He invited her for a casual lunch at the usual ramen spot, and when she sat down, Naruto instantly ignited the conversation.

"Sakura-chan, have you heard anything about…you know…Itachi-san?" Naruto mumbled under his breath. His mind was screaming at him to stop and run back into his apartment for hiding, but his legs would simply not budge.

"Itachi-san? No, I haven't except for that one night at your place. I see that I'm the only person left to talk to, aren't I?" Sakura smirked as Naruto cringed as he smothered his face into his ramen.

"Well…I guess so, but that damned Sasuke would kick my sorry ass to the moon if I wanted to talk to him about this, and Kakashi-sensei hardly ever appears around Konoha, except for the missions. And even during the missions, we can't even talk to each other because we have to protect and escort some old stupid geezer to his village because he's too freaking scared to go alone!" Naruto slurped up the remaining contents of his ramen, and gestured to the young waitress for another bowl.

Sakura put her chopsticks down and sighed. "Naruto, haven't you learned _anything _from these past years together? You and Sasuke have gone through with a lot more than just an everyday conversation, you know! There has Haku, Orochimaru, the first and second Chuunin exams, and a lot more! Now you're just scared to have a darn talk with him? What's _wrong_ with you?"

Naruto stared at the floating bits of cooked pork in his bowl. He knew that this was what Sakura was going to say. Indeed, their friendship had surpassed many difficult obstacles, but Naruto still found it challenging to talk to Sasuke sometimes. There was one time when Naruto was caught vandalizing Jiraiya's apartment as a joke by Tsunade and Jiraiya himself, and Sasuke had just appeared out of nowhere in time to kick Jiraiya in the balls and flee with a joyous Naruto. The tense meeting in Tsunade's office had sadly included Sasuke, and they had sat there for hours before Naruto had decided to give up the cold shoulder technique and poured out all of the details. His punishment was to pay off all of the bills of damage done to Jiraiya's apartment, while Sasuke had to earn enough money for the hospital fees that Jiraiya needed. Sasuke was in debt for nearly half a year, and was still feared by Jiraiya whenever he came with Naruto to train with the "legendary" sennin…

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Naruto soon forgot about Itachi. He continued to do his missions, and encountered many interesting things along the way. He usually came home exhausted, and one time he even got a broken arm from a wild animal on a mission. Sakura, using her mastered healing jutsus learned from Tsunade, usually healed them within minutes. Sasuke remained quiet as usual, and Naruto thought every morning about how he was going to have a serious talk with Sasuke, but always procrastinated. One night, after teaching Konohamaru the proper way to use Bunshin, Naruto skipped home with a bouncy and cheerful feeling. Team 7 was being considered for the grueling Jounin test, and Kakashi promised to start training them as soon as tomorrow. As he opened the door to his apartment, a strong gust of wind blew around him. _This is strange…such wind like this on such a peaceful day? Must be the beginning of a storm...I suppose._ Naruto's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a huge explosion that was very, very close to him. The smoke twisted into his mind and strangled his thoughts. He collapsed onto the ground, gasping for fresher air. His body felt like lead, and therefore he could not even lift up his head to see who had done this. He did see the growing shadow leering towards him, step after step. The figure was wearing what seemed a long cloak of some sort and had no weapons on him. There was what seemed to be a long wisp of hair tucked behind his back…

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Oy! It's me…AGAIN! I was going to put this under Humor AND Drama, but that wouldn't make much sense…would it? Anyway, I'm trying to put a little less seriousness and a little bit more humor in here. AND, making this longer. (sigh) I suppose I'll work a bit more harder over this Thanksgiving break…Also-look for a story about Itachi's past, and how he left _everything_ behind, including his one and only-coming up in a couple of weeks, probably. Another update on THIS will be up in a few days!

…oh, and speaking of Turkey Day-HAPPY THANKGIVING, EVERYONE! HAVE A GOOD ONE! -kennie-


	3. The Return

**03-The Return**

When Naruto regained consciousness, he found out that he was on a bed. He was in a small room, but with enough space for a fireplace. He watched as the door slowly opened, and revealed a gloomy figure, embedded within the shadows. Naruto squinted to see who it was. A long cloak, bangs and a small ponytail…

Wait a minute. A long clock, bangs and a small ponytail? That sounded so familiar, but Naruto couldn't grasp who it was. The name started with an "I"…

"I…I…I…" Naruto could think clearly now, but his mouth seemed still paralyzed, not by the poison, but from the shock. The shock of the return.

The figure stood silent. He moved ever so slowly, towards the warmth of the fireplace. The dim light surrounded his face, and Naruto knew who it was.

His tired red eyes spoke for him. His hair was neatly combed, but there was a hint of a scar on what his cloak would allow his hand to reveal.

He turned so his back was facing Naruto. Naruto sighed and rolled his eyes. It _was_ him.

"IRUKA-SENSEI! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!"

Suddenly the cloaked figure turned around and grinned. Over the years, he had developed his "red eyes" from a lack of sleep, but they still shined with pride.

"Oy, Naruto! Long time no see!"

Naruto returned the grin and leapt up from the bed, despite his injury, and hugged Iruka as hard as he could.

"Ugh, Naruto, I can't breathe!" Iruka half-laughed as he wiped a tear from his face. It had been too long. He had gone away on a long mission to the Lightning Country to gather some information, but had lost track of time. How long has it been? Months? Perhaps even a year? Iruka sighed and started to pry Naruto off him.

"So, Naruto," Iruka began. He had returned not only because his mission was done, but for another, important reason. "You're probably wondering why I knocked you unconscious. I didn't want to do it, but I had to, because Hokage Tsunade-sama wanted me to."

"Eh? _You_ did that to me?"

"Um…well, yeah, but see there was a very important reason for tha-" Iruka was interrupted by another one of Naruto's random explosions of anger.

"OLD GRANNY TSUNADE DID THIS TO ME?! AND AFTER ALL I DID FOR _HER_?! I SWEAR, THE NEXT TIME I'LL SEE HER I'LL SHOVE ANOTHER ONE OF JIRAIYA'S PERVERTED MANGA UP HER DAMN FACE!!" Naruto kept on rambling on like an old man, and Iruka couldn't stop laughing. _Nothing has changed at all since I've left_, he thought with a sigh.

"Oy, Naruto! Calm down! I have to tell you something important!" Iruka scowled at him.

"What?"

"Last night, Itachi-san was reported to be seen in the area where you live, Naruto, and I was ordered by Hokage-sama to knock you unconscious with a stick or something and take you into her room for 'safekeeping'," Iruka held up a large stick that was equivalent to the size of a shovel and grinned. "I do not know about Itachi-san's whereabouts at this exact moment, but I guess we'll see where he shows up later. Won't we, Naruto…NARUTO?!"

Naruto had fallen asleep. Iruka sighed, and left the room. _Hokage-sama will want the latest report on how he's doing_, Iruka thought silently. As he gently pulled the door shut, he could still see a glimpse of what seemed to be a rather large and red shovel-shaped bruise on the back of his head…

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ERGH! ALWAYS WITH THE SHORT-NESS! WHY CAN I NEVER…EVER…MAKE THESE DAMNED THINGS _LONG_?! -kennie-


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